A person has been named to lead the states marijuana office. We learn more about who she is, and hear from her about the challenges she'll face as she builds a new state agency from scratch.

It's World Alzheimer's Day. We talk to a team of local researchers hoping to improve care for Minnesota’s indigenous communities.

The beloved Vali-Hi drive-in theater in the Twin Cities may be closed, but a local filmmaker is taking you to the drive-in with his new film "Bobby's Intermission."

Plus, the Twins magic number is down to one. Wally and Eric give us the playoff picture.

It's been legal to consume cannabis recreationally in Minnesota since August 1. Today, Gov. Tim Walz picked Erin Dupree to lead Minnesota’s new Office of Cannabis Management.

The St. Paul resident owns a CBD shop in Apple Valley, which she will give up to take the new job.

Dupree has her work cut out for her. She will oversee the rulemaking that will be the foundation of legal marijuana sales in Minnesota. MPR News reporter Mark Zdechlik shared the details with host Cathy Wurzer.

The dominos are still falling as more police departments join the list of agencies leaving schools. Will it impact school safety? We dig deeper on the role of school resource officers.

From traumatic experiences to rewarding ones, a new book shares stories from a St. Cloud hospital during the height of the pandemic in the words of doctors and nurses.

Two Minnesota journalists are leaving their jobs to care for aging loved ones and they are great friends. We sit down with John Wanamaker and Tom Lyden.

Plus, Minnesota musician Dessa talks about her new album.

Two longtime Twin Cities journalists are starting a new chapter. Our own John Wanamaker after 14 years at MPR and Fox 9 Investigative reporter Tom Lyden after 30 years.

Both are doing so for similar reasons, to help take care of aging loved ones. And both also happen to be very good friends. Tom and John joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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More school districts are without school resource officers after the police departments in Apple Valley, Maple Grove and White Bear Lake have pulled them.

A change in state law – which deals with the types of physical restraints that can be used on students – has led about 40 law agencies to suspend their school resource officer programs. The sparring over the law brings to mind questions about the role and effectiveness of police officers in schools.

For more, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with James Densley. He is a professor and department chair of criminal justice at Metro State University.

COVID-19 is still with us, given the recent uptick in cases. Even though the chaotic early days of the pandemic are fading into memory, what shouldn't be forgotten are the nearly 15,000 Minnesotans who have died due to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

St. Cloud Hospital saw its first COVID patients in March 2020. Three months later, it had a COVID-specific unit and a staff working desperately to save lives. As the disease becomes a still worrying — but more routine — part of life, a group of nurses at the hospital created a book to help people remember what those earlier days were like for health care providers on the front lines.

Lisa Kilgard is a nurse at St. Cloud Hospital and one of three editors behind the new collection, “Just Breathe: COVID Stories from the Heart of Minnesota.” She talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about reflecting on a difficult time through the perspectives of her colleagues and their loved ones.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.   

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

Minneapolis singer, rapper and writer Dessa has risen to fame over the past two decades through both her genre-defying solo performances and collaborations with groups like the Minnesota Orchestra and Doomtree.

She talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer ahead of her new album, “Bury the Lede,” out next week.

We’re bringing back summer for a week. Every year it seems those warmer temperatures creep back in, some call it second summer. Right in between false fall and actual fall. MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

For the latest weather information, follow MPR News’ Updraft blog.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.   

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

Anyone who likes reading books loves browsing at independent bookstores — especially when the owners are passionate about the books they’re selling.

Mary Taris, a former elementary school teacher, is an avid reader and she owns Strive Bookstore on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

The shop opened in June of this year and it’s across the street from Target. Strive Bookstore is housed in the former Young-Quinlan department store building.

MPR’s senior economics correspondent Chris Farrell says he can’t resist a bookstore, and he recently visited Strive.

Minnesota Hockey legend Henry Boucha has died at the age of 72.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke about his legacy with the current boys hockey coach in Warroad, Minn.

Jay Hardwick is a former Warroad player and the grandson of a coach who watched Boucha’s rise to stardom in the state tournament of 1969.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.   

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.